Congress fails to reach deal, government shut down today

A stalemate by the House and the Senate over a spending plan for the 2014 fiscal year resulted in a government shutdown and stalled services as federal lawmakers failed to reach a compromise on Monday.

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By Jack BarnwellCITY EDITORjbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By Jack BarnwellCITY EDITORjbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Oct. 1, 2013 at 9:45 AM

By Jack BarnwellCITY EDITORjbarnwell@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Oct. 1, 2013 at 9:45 AM

A stalemate by the House and the Senate over a spending plan for the 2014 fiscal year resulted in a government shutdown and stalled services as federal lawmakers failed to reach a compromise on Monday.

With a stalemate in the House of Representatives and the Senate, a large chunk of federal government functions will stall on Tuesday.

This is the first partial shutdown in 17 years. The last was during the Clinton administration in 1995.

This leaves more than 800,000 federal employees on furloughs, services like Veteran Affairs claims will be delayed and projects will also be delayed. Other services, like delivery of U.S. mail and social security benefits will continue.

For some federal employees, it may mean unpaid furloughs for an indefinite amount of time, including some that work at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake.

Military personnel will not be affected by the partial shutdown.

Peggy Shoaf, NAWS China Lake's public affairs officer, said Monday that a government shutdown will have some impact on the Navy base.

“Approximately 300 employees will be affected base wide,” Shoaf said. “We cannot estimate the effect a shutdown will have on contractors, as it depends on the contractors and the contract itself.”

Shoaf added that no matter what happens “everyone will report to work today.”

However, some tenant commands at China Lake may remain unaffected because of how they are funded.

Scott O’Neil, executive director for Naval Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake and Point Mugu in Ventura County, said that his division is funded through the Navy Working Capital Fund.

“NAWCWD employees will continue to work as long as funding is available; funds are available at NAWCWD for the indefinite future. Military personnel are not subject to furloughs and will continue to report for duty,” O’Neil said in an email statement on Monday.

He added that despite current fiscal uncertainties, “NAWCWD remains dedicated to supporting the nation's warfighters by making sure they have an advantage on the battlefield.”

The failure to pass any method that would fund the government for the foreseeable future is due to the House GOP’s continuing decision to try to delay funding for parts of the Affordable Healthcare Act.

The enrollment period for individual mandates to purchase healthcare began today, and the healthcare act goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Despite efforts from a group of Republicans to stage a revolt in favor of a no-strings-attached spending plan, the House GOP remained entrenched in its goal to delay “Obamacare.”

Congressman Kevin McCarthy (R — Bakersfield), the House Majority Whip, sided with his party on Monday in regard to Obamacare.

“I believe we must keep the government funded but we must also do everything in our power to protect the American people from the train wreck that is Obamacare. It is raising premiums and health care costs on our families, and is hurting our local small businesses,” McCarthy said in an email statement. “I call on Senator Harry Reid and the Administration to work with the House to find a solution.”

Page 2 of 3 - The congressman signaled that good news emerged in this debacle.

“As this funding debate continues, I am pleased that the Senate finally passed House legislation that I voted for, the Pay Our Military Act, which will ensure that both our active-duty servicemembers and certain civilian employees continue to get paid, including the hardworking men and women who serve at China Lake in the event of a shutdown,” the Majority Whip said.

Obama signed the bill into law Monday night.

While the House asked the Senate to establish a conference committee to hash out a compromise, the Senate rejected the idea because it wants a clean-cut spending plan.

“The Senate will not negoitate with a gun to its head,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said prior to the shutdown.

An hour after the government officially shut down at midnight Eastern Time, House Republicans again reasserted its stance by voting on amendments to delay the Affordable Healthcare Act.

As soon as news broke about the budget impasse in Congress, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service released a notice to all DoD civilians.

“Civilian employees scheduled to work on Oct. 1, 2013 should report to work as normal,” the message notes. “You will either be placed in a furlough status or continue to work.”

Potential local level

impact

With the government shutdown, no matter how brief, comes an impact on the local economy.

During the administrative furloughs during July and August, the impact to community businesses was high. Employees suffered an equivalent of 20 percent pay cuts when the Navy and the Pentagon instituted a furlough on all defense employees.

Dan Spurgeon, General Manager for SpringHill Suites and the Hilton Hotel in Ridgecrest, said that a shutdown was not a desirable choice.

“Any kind of shut down would be disastrous,” Spurgeon said. “Almost all travel would be suspended and it could have a huge impact on local hotels.”

The last time the federal government had a brush with a partial shutdown, Spurgeon said it had an adverse impact on the local hotel industry, based on the records from SpringHill Suites and the Hilton.

“People simply canceled projects because there was no funding for it,” Spurgeon said.

Spurgeon added that presently his hotels’ bookings did not indicate the possibility of a shutdown.

“October looks to be a pretty robust month right now,” Spurgeon said. However, he expected a bigger fight when Oct. 17 rolls around and the fight for the debt ceiling occurs.

Nathan Ahle, President of the Chamber of Commerce said that should a government shutdown occur, the implications would be similar to what happened during the summer furloughs caused by sequestration.

Page 3 of 3 - “That was very difficult on our businesses and on our community as a whole,” Ahle said.

Ahle added that he expects much the same reaction as what had happened in July and August with the furloughs.

“Our community will continue to rally and support one another, much like they did during the furloughs,” Ahle said. “It’s a difficult thing, but people will support those affected by the furloughs as best we can. We’re all in it together.”

Ridgecrest Vice Mayor Chip Holloway said he would not be surprised about any impact to the local economy.

“Our community has a long history of reacting long before specific actions have taken place and I would be surprised if we haven't already suffered just on the threat of a shutdown,” Holloway said in an email Monday.

“Anytime you have a community so dependent on federal dollars, a government shutdown cannot be positive, at least not for the short term.”

Holloway added that his frustration in the whole process lays with the lack of solid information coming from the media about the ups and downs of the Affordable Healthcare Act.

The media, he said, was so focused on who should be blamed for the stalemate in Congress that no real information is available for why it is happening.

“I'm not prepared to say who is right or wrong at this point but the biggest losers in all of this will be those who can least afford it — hard working taxpayers,” Holloway said.